How I ... Take good care of WNY visitors

Just about anyone in Buffalo can give general directions to Niagara Falls.

But ask Kyle Johnson how to get there and you’ll also find out where to find free parking, where on the boat to stand to get the best view from the Maid of the Mist and where to get the best meal from local restaurants.

Satisfied? Good, that means he’s done his job.

As concierge of the Hyatt Regency Buffalo, Johnson spends his days making people happy. Sometimes that means giving directions or restaurant reservations, but mostly it’s about helping to make sure they’re enjoying themselves.

That’s why he was named the 2014 Lodging Employee of the Year at the fourth annual Travel & Tourism Beacon Awards, hosted by Visit Buffalo Niagara.

“I’m not in the business of disappointing people,” says Johnson, 30. “I want them to come to Buffalo and find out things they would never find on Google or by looking it up on the Internet.”

Born and raised in the Town of Niagara, he worked a string of customer service jobs while growing up, starting with the bowling alley counter at Frontier Lanes in Lewiston, where his father was manager.

Later he worked as assistant manager at Finish Line and Foot Locker stores at malls in Niagara Falls. That exposed him to visitors from around the world and all walks of life — an experience that serves him well at the Hyatt.

He stumbled into the concierge position after interviewing for a shuttle van driver job.

Said Johnson: “During the course of the interview, she was like, ‘You talk way too much to be a doorman,’ ” but then the manager said that was a good thing and hired him to work with the bellman. Before long, he was working the concierge desk.

He uses personal experiences in the region to inform and advise. That means referring people to restaurants and attractions where they’re sure to get a good meal and have fun.

On the day of this interview, that’s exactly what he did when a man from Norway and another from Italy approached the desk for directions to the Falls. Johnson told them the most direct route and recommended against following GPS suggestions.

Then he provided the names of restaurants on both sides of the border, as well as his card, just in case they got lost on the way.

He credits his mother with instilling in him an important quality that’s helped him succeed at the job: As a child, after a friend went home crying, his mother made him promise he would treat others the way he wanted to be treated — and she made him write it over and over again in a notebook.

“Now at 30 years old, it’s stuck with me forever,” Johnson said. “I come here and I talk to people and make sure they’re looked after when they’re in my city. It’s very rewarding when people walk back in and say, ‘We had a great time. The directions you gave us were perfect. We never would have known about this if you hadn’t told us.’ ”

His favorite story concerns an adopting couple who flew in from New York the day their daughter was being born at Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo.

On arrival, they were jittery and frantic, but once Johnson got the couple to share the reason for their visit, he immediately set their minds at ease about the hospital (where he was treated for a broken nose as a kid) and took care of them the rest of their stay.

“One thing I was taught is that 90 percent of all communication is nonverbal, so you need to read those cues — shoulders, facial — to read people and talk to people,” he said. “Talk to everyone. You never know what kind of day they’re having. The one thing you say to them could make their day.”

The couple was so impressed they wrote to Hyatt, which recognized Johnson on the corporate website.

He keeps in touch with the family and even traveled to New York City to visit them and the baby.

“Dealing with people and knowing how to treat them really is a big thing in this business,” he said. “You also have to think outside the box in this job. There’s a lot of times when you’re having a conversation with someone and you have to be quick.”

He makes it his business to do whatever’s needed. That includes greeting guests, walking them to their rooms or helping out in valet when necessary.

The job, ultimately, is about being the go-to person who makes someone feel they’ve been taken care of.

“You make it so they don’t have to worry about anything while they’re here,” Johnson said. “That’s why I give out 500 business cards a month.”